Cooper has not been using Hooper as a post player despite the lack of depth there. He uses Holmes at the four whenever only one of Williams, Lyttle, or Dantas is on the floor.

Assuming Dantas takes off for the Olympics next year, the Dream will desperately need another post. Even with Dantas another big would be useful.

_________________Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

If the schedule is done accordingly, the WNBA season(including playoffs) will be completed before the Worlds start(end of September).

Yeah, but she may want to practice with her team before it starts

_________________Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

Maybe if we are lucky Brazil will not have paid their FIBA dues, and this time won't have the Olympic card to give them a free pass.

Assuming we don't hit the lottery, we mainly need a backup PG or a 4/5 who might develop into Sancho's replacement or at least Williams backup. I'm tired of hearing about Russell. If she was any good she would have come out this year. At best she would give Morello someone about her size to talk to on the bench. I've seen too many LV games where she was a non-entity to get excited about her.

If Angel does come back then they should draft best player available that isn't a wing and look at making a deal to flip one of their wings for a backup PG or 4/5. Or flip Angel for a lottery pick or rising young star.

I've seen too many LV games where she was a non-entity to get excited about her.

People still get excited about DeShields. Could be the problem is the coach in Tennessee. Could be? Most likely. Russell is worth a shot, especially considering the combination of height and solid build like hers doesn't come around that often. You like Billings better, or haven't seen enough? Maybe reach for Vadeeva since McCoughtry has played with her? Hmmm..

I'm surprised you're interested in Boyette considering she had the opportunity to start but has fallen flat. Most of the players that have been given opportunities to step up have done so.

_________________Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

Maybe if we are lucky Brazil will not have paid their FIBA dues, and this time won't have the Olympic card to give them a free pass.

For what it's worth, Brazil are now listed among the entrants on the official website for the Americup in 25 days time: http://www.fiba.com/womensamericup/2017/ . Both Dantas and Erika were named in the Brazilian preliminary squad for the tournament (their training camp starts this Thursday).

Maybe if we are lucky Brazil will not have paid their FIBA dues, and this time won't have the Olympic card to give them a free pass.

For what it's worth, Brazil are now listed among the entrants on the official website for the Americup in 25 days time: http://www.fiba.com/womensamericup/2017/ . Both Dantas and Erika were named in the Brazilian preliminary squad for the tournament (their training camp starts this Thursday).

Vadeeva is almost 19. When can teams draft her Richyyy? She is a big talent and wouldnt mind if the Storm went after her.

_________________"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were and are the dynamic duo. They're the one-two punch. They're all the clich�s possible to describe people that perfectly complement each other, who make each other better and also bring out the best in the team." �Karen Bryant

Vadeeva is almost 19. When can teams draft her Richyyy? She is a big talent and wouldnt mind if the Storm went after her.

She's eligible for next year's draft. It's going to be interesting to see how high she goes, in a draft that's already deep with American prospects (who teams will be a lot more confident in actually showing up).

For instance, one of the first times he saw 5-foot-9, 146-pound rookie guard Brittney Sykes, he just knew she had to be "Slim.''

"She loves it and rolls by it,'' Cooper said.

I wonder if pilight is going to be able to remember that.

Quote:

In one of their first meetings, Cooper told Sykes she could be the WNBA's rookie of the year. And Sykes has made quick work proving her new coach prophetic there, too. She's taken over a starting spot in the Dream backcourt and ranks second among WNBA rookies in points per game (10.1) and is third in rebounds (3.6) and averaged minutes played (19..

"Her progression is definitely ahead of schedule,'' Cooper said. "And she's only going to get better. I think she has jumped up and opened people's eyes.''

Quote:

Cooper's rookie of the year prediction actually came after an exhibition game against Minnesota in which Sykes took 19 shots (hitting just three). Cooper was stunned by the volume and liked Sykes' aggressiveness. Sykes said she responded, hey, if the shots are there I'm going to take them.

Quote:

"It's just something, you set a goal for yourself,'' she said. "I didn't waste any time. I know I deserved to be in the WNBA. Now that I'm here, I want to reap the benefits.

"It just fuels me. People still doubt. There are doubters, there are supporters. Getting the rookie of the year would be a shut-up factor, a husher.''

Quote:

Dallas forward Glory Johnson swatted away her shot like she was spiking a volleyball, hammering Sykes in the mouth along the way.

A foul? You must be new here.

"It's never a foul. Especially for rookies,'' Sykes said.

Quote:

For much of the season, Sykes was the only rookie on Atlanta. That left her alone to do the work of cleaning up after practice, picking up tape and towels and gathering all the balls.

Quote:

Peterson, Sykes' backcourt running mate at Syracuse, did not play in that game. Sykes said she wanted to hug Peterson before the game but said she couldn't because she'd get in trouble with Cooper.

Quote:

Peterson is s averaging two points and 5.8 minutes played per game as a rookie.

Good article - thanks for posting. What is also good to see is that last year's rookie, Bria Holmes is still finding a lot of minutes and playing well much of the time despite Sykes getting some of her minutes. Holmes seem to play 2,3 and 4 depending on what's going on. Though she is pretty small for 4. Cooper seems to be going for small ball a lot.

I have been wondering how Sykes fell to 7. Perhaps her injury history worried some teams. I have to admit she wasn't really on my radar, because I kept looking for players in other positions.

He doesn't have much choice. With Morello out we only have three post players, and Dantas isn't a paint banger.

_________________Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

He doesn't have much choice. With Morello out we only have three post players, and Dantas isn't a paint banger.

Dantas is 12-57 from 3 - 3.35 attempts per games at 21%. I don't quite see why she is shooting so many 3's. She's almost 50% from 2.

Part of it is Cooper. He gives everyone the green light. In LA he had arguably the greatest post player of All Time and she took 30-60 threes every season despite being a 32% shooter from there.

_________________Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

Most of them are pretty much wide open as well, because they come off pick-and-pops or ball rotation after the big guarding her has faded into the lane. I actually really liked the new confidence she came into this season with, but all her advanced numbers - PER, True Shooting %, eFG% etc. - are actually at career lows in the WNBA, due to all those bricked threes.

She will report to Russia for her final international season in October and plans to return to the Dream to play in the W.N.B.A. at least until the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

_________________Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.

Assuming she does come back to the Dream, I wonder if they ask her to play more at the 4. Sykes is starting to look good enough that they may want to find ways to get Hayes, McCoughtry and her on the court at the same time.

Assuming she does come back to the Dream, I wonder if they ask her to play more at the 4. Sykes is starting to look good enough that they may want to find ways to get Hayes, McCoughtry and her on the court at the same time.

Yeah i was thinking this would be there best backcourt line up but how do you manage to push out All star Layshia ? Angel plays the 4 ? no bueno

That means your emphasis would be guards in a draft with quality forwards. Although you could probably mine a few gems in the later rounds. Oh wait, ATL gave up their 2nd round pick for Hooper. Genius. Maybe Lexie Brown or Canada in the first round depending on how well they finish the season. Maybe Mitchell if they collapse?

Clarendon
Hayes/Sykes
McCoughtry/Holmes
Lyttle(still got a couple years in the tank)/Dantas
Williams

Same expendables as above.
I like the symmetry better in this second depth chart, plus you can definitely draft a forward in the first round and maybe find a gem guard in the third round.

With ATL going with 11 players even with a cheap roster, it does seem like they're holding out hope at McCoughtry returns, but there was no hint of her returning this season in that NYTimes article. With Morello on WNBA welfare for the second year in a row, the Dream have been getting by on 10 players... especially load on the post players.

_________________Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

I guess if nothing else this appears to seal the deal that Angel won't be back this season. Interesting question is whether she will be cored next year. It seems like if she wanted to go elsewhere she would have demanded that by now. They may need the core option for Tip pretty soon - so do you core Angel (who may not leave) or Tip (who might.)

As for Sykes, we have seen a lot of comets in the WNBA - players that shine briefly and then disappear so it's kind of early to tell how Sykes end up - but she looks great so far. They played Angel at the 4 some last year and Sancho is not getting any younger so there is some logic to moving her to the 4 position.

Because Williams is also an undersized 5 it seems to me they either need to get a big, powerful 4 or embrace small ball. The Angel/Hayes/Clarendon/Sykes/Williams lineup could be extreme small ball and might work. The question is whether they can live with the loss of rebounding/defense and whether Angel's return will dissolve chemistry of the current team. It is not a coincidence that Hayes and Clarendon are having their career best seasons. My preferred plan is the make the best deal possible in trading Angel to a contender, hopefully for a big 4 or 5. However, Angel may have ruined her trade value as well - who wants to give up much for a player that might not show up regularly. Who knows she could probably start an Ice Cream store in any WNBA city who might trade for her.

Shades - I like Hooper. I think she fills a need so I don't see much reason to get rid of her. It would have been nice to pick her up on waivers from Dallas but sneaky Miller grabbed her just so he could demand a pick from us. She's likely better than anyone we'd get in the second round anyway and one rookie making the team is probably all that will happen.

Just because I put somebody in the expendable list doesn't mean they have to be gone. They're just good candidates to be upgraded. I doubt that they'd upgrade them all at once. Cooper is using Hooper as a stretch 4, and I don't even like Maya as a stretch 4 in anything other than emergency situations. Hooper is a SF and that spot is full in either system above.

_________________Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

McCoughtry's played a fair bit of 4 before due to Lyttle's various injuries; it's a lineup that can work. I doubt they start with it - which is why I suggested a little while ago that Sykes seems a good very early shout for 2018 6th Woman - but I could definitely see them using it quite a bit. Holmes is already basically the backup 4 this season, and Angel can fill that role at least as well.

The three of them at 2/3/4 with a point guard is likely to work better than 1/2/3 with two posts. They can do it to a certain extent, but none of them really want to be a distributor.

I guess if nothing else this appears to seal the deal that Angel won't be back this season. Interesting question is whether she will be cored next year. It seems like if she wanted to go elsewhere she would have demanded that by now. They may need the core option for Tip pretty soon - so do you core Angel (who may not leave) or Tip (who might.)

Good point about coring. We might have to hire Russian hackers to find out how long of an extension Hayes got back in 2016.

Quote:

ATLANTA (Feb. 2, 2016) — The Atlanta Dream have announced the re-signing of restricted free agent Tiffany Hayes to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the contracts are not disclosed.

“It is terrific to be back with the team that believed in me from the start,” Hayes said. “I am honored and looking forward to joining the rest of my teammates again this summer for a successful season.”

If Hayes contract expires after this season, Cooper needs to work on getting her and/or McCoughtry another extension NOW. Don't fall in that trap Toler did which allowed Toliver to go without compensation.

_________________Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

Dream schedule in the coming days:
Yikes.......Lynx games require no analysis. Sky have beat us twice. Mystics will have Elena SpiderDonne and Liberty are usually tough on the Dream. Some winnable games here, but could see the losses pile up.

You should be more positive. I mean, you guys won two more games in July than I thought you were going to win, so you've got that going for you...

Granted, you could make the argument that you only won one of those because their best player couldn't walk but, still... 10-13 is a better record than your personnel indicates you ought to have: be more optimistic!

Hard to be optimistic when 2 of the next 3 games are against the Lynx. I doubt that even SpaceJunkie thinks the Lynx will lose one of those games. However, I think we could beat the Sky, Liberty and Stars. So winning two or three of those games would be possible. This stretch will be important in the battle for 8th place.

No. I just put in the next batch of games. The Stars are the first one I put us down as a favorite to win.

I ran my tips out to the end of the season. I have Atlanta and Seattle both winning 2 more games, setting up a tie for 8th place. I think we beat the Storm though and therefore hold the tie breaker.

Along the way, we could beat the Sky, Liberty and maybe a few others, especially the final week of the season, but I don't put us down as favorites in most of our remaining games. I'd really like us to get to 17-17 to prove Angel is unecessary to finish 500.

You guys aren't going to get to .500. In fact, if you don't beat Chicago, it's not out of the question that you lose ten in a row.

Most Dream fans wrote the season off as soon as Angel declared she was taking the summer off.

_________________Is the relinquishment of the trial by jury and the liberty of the press necessary for your liberty? Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend to the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else!… Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel.